


Legacy of Steele – “Brothers in Arms”

by NorahBolt56



Series: Steele Stringed Hearts & Legacy of Steele [5]
Category: Remington Steele (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 20:16:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11608161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorahBolt56/pseuds/NorahBolt56
Summary: in this part, Remington reveals his 'secret' to his and Laura's son..





	1. Chapter 1

Harry popped into the Steele household later that afternoon. “Hi sis,” he greeted his younger sister Olivia with a peck on the cheek as he came into the large kitchen where she sat reading and munching on an apple.

 “Oh hi Harry –welcome to the fun house,” she replied dryly as she rolled her eyes. In reply to his questioning look she said “Dad & Mickey just had a huge fight. I thought Mom and I were supposed to be the hormonal ones,” she explained wryly.

A concerned look crossed her older brother’s face. “What were they fighting about?” he asked. “Mom & Dad just got a call from our school principal to say Mickey’s been suspended for fighting. And the report card he brought home last week wasn’t the best either. I guess it just snowballed,” she told him.

“Where are they?” Harry inquired. With that his step mother Laura came into the kitchen rubbing her forehead in consternation.

”Your father took off in the Auburn to go for a drive to cool down a bit & Mickey’s gone for a surf to cool down as well I guess.  I’ve just tried calling your father but he’s not answering his phone. I know he’s really angry when he storms off like that to cool down” Laura shook her head, remembering another time years ago, when she and Remington had had a huge fight and he’d stormed out of the office. ”They butt heads sometimes those two guys of mine – too alike I think,” she said ruefully as Harry nodded in agreement. As much as he was like their father, he knew his younger brother was even more so. “I don’t know what’s got into Mickey lately though,” she sighed a little despairingly.

“He’s sixteen Laura – I remember myself at that age. You’ve got a lot going on at sixteen and I suppose sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming,” Harry stated perceptively. At 34 he was not too old to remember his own teenage years and couldn’t quite believe how quick the years had gone by since then. He was now a married father of two young children and a successful detective, having joined the ‘family business’ almost ten years before.  “Do you want me to try & talk to him?” he offered.

Laura nodded gratefully. “If you could, that would be wonderful Harry. Maybe he’ll listen to his big brother more than he’ll listen to his Dad or me.” Harry nodded and gave his stepmother a peck on the cheek.

“I can’t guarantee he will but I’ll give it a try. “

He found his younger brother sitting on the beach behind the house, his surfboard next to him, staring out at the ocean, a frown clouding his features that apart from the eye colour were so similar to his own. By his wet hair he could tell he’d been in the water already. “Catch any good waves Mick?” he asked as he came & sat down next to him. Mickey momentarily glanced at his older brother then focused his gaze back on the water. “A couple,” he replied non-committedly. He wasn’t really in the mood for talking. Harry waited patiently, not pressing him, but when his younger brother remained silent Harry decided to bite the bullet. “Ah.. Liv said you & Dad had a fight.”

At this Mickey blew out a frustrated breath and shook his head ruefully. ”So do you want to have a ‘talk’ to me too now?” he threw at him angrily. “See if you can fix the Steele family screwup?” he added. “I don’t need a lecture if that’s why you’re here Harry – I’ve already had one from Dad thanks.”

At this Harry looked at him, a little shocked. “I’m not here to give you a lecture Mickey. And you’re not a screwup – why would you say that mate?”

Mickey laughed ruefully. “Dad thinks I am. Why can’t you be more like your brother and sister?” he said a little bitterly, repeating his father’s earlier words to him, said in the heat of the moment.

“Mickey I’m sure he doesn’t think that..” Harry went to argue but his brother cut him off angrily.

“What would you know Mr Harvard Law? How can I live up to that? Or Liv, the ‘musical genius’?” he exploded. Harry bit back his own heated retort, knowing his younger brother didn’t really mean that and he was just blowing off steam and unfortunately Harry was in the firing line. Instead he just stared at him.

Mickey instantly regretted his harsh words. ”Sorry bro you didn’t deserve that,” he muttered in shame.

 “It’s okay. Look I know you’re upset, but you don’t have to live up to anyone Mickey,” Harry replied.

At this Mickey shook his head and picked up a handful of sand and threw it in frustration. “Sometimes it sucks to have the ‘great Remington Steele’ for a father – he’s so bloody perfect.  That’s a hell of a shadow to try and get out from under,” he stated.

Harry smiled ruefully. “Try having two famous parents,” he retorted, referring not only to their father but also his mother, Kate Kelly, who was a famous rock star. “I mean I know your Mum is pretty well known in her own right these days too but I’ve had to live with two pretty big shadows most of my life, so I hear you little brother. But Dad is far from perfect Mick and he’d be the first to admit it. Tell me, how much do you know about Dad’s past, I mean before he met your Mum?”

At this Mickey turned and looked at his older brother. “Not a lot – bits & pieces mostly. I know he wasn’t always a detective,” he replied.

“No he wasn’t,” Harry stated with a wry smile. “I don’t know the full story myself, only he can tell you that, but I know a bit. I know before he met your Mum he well.. how shall we say, didn’t exactly tread the straight and narrow.”

At this, Mickey looked shocked. “You mean.. Dad was a criminal?”

Harry hesitated for a moment. “In a manner of speaking, yes. But I don’t think he had a lot of choice really. See he didn’t have the easiest start to life and that’s putting it mildly. I remember when I first met him and he told me he was my Dad – I was a few years younger than you are now. He told me a story about his life, not all of it things he was proud of.  Maybe you should ask him to tell you that story too,” Harry suggested gently. “I think that’s why he’s so big on us all getting a good education because he never got the chance to have one himself. But I guess at the end of the day little brother you’ve got to figure out what you want to do with your life.”

“So what did you get into a fight about at school anyway?” Harry asked him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Mickey replied hurriedly as he focused his gaze on the sand.

“Yes it does Mickey – c’mon you can tell me,” Harry coaxed him.

“Okay, okay. I was in the boys’ locker room after baseball practice and I heard this guy who’s in Olivia’s grade mouthing off about her. I think he’d asked her out but the guy’s a jerk so she turned him down so he was spreading rumours about her. I guess I saw red – no one talks about my sister like that!” Mickey stated loyally. “So I confronted him and told him to shut his mouth. He said ‘make me’ ..so I did,” he added matter-of-factly.

Harry smiled at him and patted him on the back. “Well good on you little brother - I would have done the same thing,” he said to him. Harry was also very protective of his little sister. “In fact the guy’s probably lucky Liv didn’t hear what he said about her  - I think she would have popped him one too,” Harry laughed as did Mickey, both of them knowing full well of the temper their sister possessed.

 “So did you tell Dad that was why you were fighting?” Harry then asked.

Mickey shook his head. “I did try to but he was too busy yelling at me,” he replied.

“Well maybe you should try again once he’s calmed down a bit – somehow I think he’ll understand.”

“Hey thanks Harry - I appreciate it. You really get me you know?” Mickey said to his older brother.

“Well we do have half our DNA in common squirt,” Harry replied as he affectionately ruffled his younger brother’s hair.

“Hey who you calling squirt? I’m as tall as you are now. And I’m still growing,” Mickey replied with a cheeky grin that was so reminiscent of his brother’s & father’s as his brother laughed and grinned back at him.


	2. Chapter 2

Unseen by either of them, Remington stood on the back deck of the house watching his two dark haired sons. He could catch most of their conversation from his vantage point and it broke his heart to think his younger son was feeling like that. After he’d cooled down a bit he’d driven home. Laura had told him Harry was on the beach talking to Mickey. Engrossed in their conversation they didn’t notice as he came down to the beach and came up behind them. Crouching down he put a strong hand on each of their shoulders, “How about I take it from here Junior?” he said to Harry as both he & Mickey turned around, surprised to find him there.

Harry smiled & nodded, knowing his younger brother and their father had some things to work out. “Sure thing Dad,” he replied. “Take it easy hey mate?” he said to Mickey as he gave him a playful punch to the arm. grinning at him.

“Thanks bro,” Mickey replied gratefully with the same grin.

“Thanks Harry,” Remington said in appreciation to his older son as he clapped him on the shoulder.

“Don’t mention it Dad,” Harry replied with a smile as he left them to it, heading back up to the house.

Remington sat down next to Mickey where Harry had been sitting and blew out a breath, searching for the right words to say. “I’m sorry about going off at you before son,” he said quietly. “I should have let you explain. That was a very noble thing you did for your sister and I’m proud of you,” he stated as Mickey looked at him with surprise. “I heard some of your conversation with your brother,” Remington explained.  “I think we’re too alike sometimes you & me Mickey,” he sighed. “That’s why we butt heads at times I guess.”

“Guess so,” Mickey agreed.

“Although you have got quite a bit of your mother in you too you know. Her temper for starters,” Remington stated ruefully, as despite himself a grin crossed his face. At that an identical lopsided grin with a flash of dimple crossed Mickey’s face too. “I know we don’t have that many big fights now but when I first met your mother, oh boy, did we have some. I’m talking huge, yelling over the top of each other, all out doozeys,” he recalled with a laugh.

“You remind me of myself at your age too Mickey, even more than Harry did in some ways,” he went on.

“How so?” Mickey asked. A smile crossed his father’s face. “You’ve got that same brash cockiness I had,” Remington said, giving his son a knowing look.  “Thinking you can take on the world. Yes that was definitely me at 16. Thought I had it all figured out,” he stated with a rueful shake of his head.

“And did you?” Mickey asked.

“No of course not,” Remington replied with a chuckle. “I still don’t some days,” he admitted, as his son looked a bit surprised at that. He paused for a moment then went on. “Mickey, I want to tell you something that neither you nor your sister know.”

Mickey looked at his father expectantly. ”I know first-hand about trying to live up to the image of the ’great Remington Steele’,” he stated with a rueful smile as Mickey looked at him somewhat puzzled. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Remington sighed then looking intently at his son said “Mickey, Remington Steele doesn’t exist.” 

“What?” Mickey asked in confusion. As far as he could see his father was sitting right there next to him.

“Your mother invented him,” Remington added.  Mickey looked at him, even more confused . “Remington Steele is not my real name.”

Mickey looked shocked. ”Then what is? is it Harry?”

“Truth is son I don’t know. Being raised as an orphan I was given a variety of names, none that were truly mine. I’ve used Harry, and your first and middle names – Michael & Richard. Johnny, Douglas, Sam, Reggie.. you pick a name and I’ve probably used it. But I’ve had the name Remington Steele for 23 years now, so I guess it’s my name for all intents & purposes. And it’s the only one I’ve ever felt as being truly mine.”

“What do you mean Mom invented him?” Mickey asked curiously.

“When your mother set up her first detective agency, Laura Holt Investigations, no one would hire her because she was a woman. Things were a bit different back then. So she invented a superior – a male superior and she made up the name ‘Remington Steele’ for him – from a typewriter and a football team I believe,” he said with a laugh.

“So how did you become Remington Steele then?” Mickey asked, intrigued.

“That my boy is a long story but one I think you need to hear. I heard your brother telling you about my less than illustrious past…” Remington stated a little shamefully as Mickey nodded.

”Well before I met your mother I’d spent the better part of my life on the wrong side of the law,” he stated frankly. “I started off as a pickpocket on the streets of Dublin & London, graduated to petty thief and then your grandfather Daniel found me and under his tutelage and mentoring I became an accomplished con-artist and master thief – quite a good one in fact.”

As he told him this Mickey’s brown eyes widened in a way that reminded Remington so much of his mother Laura that he had to laugh. “And that was how I met your mother. I was trying to steal the gems she’d been hired to protect. Royal Lavulite, the rarest gems in the world. Your Mom has one in her engagement ring – I obtained that one quite legitimately though by the way,” he pointed out as a grin crossed his face.

 “You see Mickey when I met your mother everything changed for me - she changed me. She made me want to be a better man and make an honest life for myself, and stay in one place and build a life – with her,” he confessed with a smile. “Due to a case of mistaken identity her client thought I was Remington Steele so I played along with it, impersonating him.’

“I bet Mom wasn’t too happy about that,” Mickey remarked with a grin as Remington grinned back at him.

“No she wasn’t,” he agreed. “Especially when I discovered her secret – that her ‘boss’ didn’t exist, that he was an elaborate ruse. And then well I guess we came to an arrangement – I assumed the identity of Remington Steele on a permanent basis and well as they say, the rest is history. Over time I actually started to enjoy detective work and became more than just a figurehead for the agency, and under your mother’s expert tutelage I guess I developed a knack for it. But certainly in those early days I found it very hard to live up to the image your mother had created of ‘the great Remington Steele’,” he confessed as Mickey looked dumbfounded.

He took a moment or two to process it all then asked with a grin “And Olivia doesn’t know this?” as his father shook his head. “Finally I know something she doesn’t!” he exclaimed gleefully as Remington laughed at the healthy dose of sibling rivalry between his & Laura’s children.

“Now I don’t want you spilling the beans to her okay?” Remington warned him. “I’ll tell her in my own time – I’m not quite ready to shatter my daughter’s illusions of her old Dad just yet,” he admitted ruefully. “And needless to say this doesn’t go past our family. Only a handful of people know and your mother and I would like to keep it that way.”

Mickey nodded in agreement. “Sure Dad.”

“Now I think we’ve had enough talking about me – how about we talk about you now son? What your brother said was right – I do take all of my children’s education very seriously because I never had the opportunity to have a formal education myself. Now I know you’re not as, how shall we say, ‘academically inclined’ as your brother and sister but you’re a bright lad Mickey – you’ve just got to apply yourself.”  

At this Mickey sighed and a smile crossed his father’s face. “Hmmm another way you’re a bit too much like your old man I’m afraid. What does your mother say, your aversion to homework is a bit like mine to legwork?” he laughed as did his & Laura’s son. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from your mother over the years it’s that you’ve got to put in the hard yards to reap the rewards. She’s one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met and you do get half your genes from her you know” he reminded their son gently.

Mickey looked at him then said, ”I know that Dad but I don’t see the point of learning all that stuff when all I want to do is play baseball.” Mickey had a natural talent for the game, inherited from his mother, and was the star hitter as well as second baseman for his high school team.  

Remington nodded. “I know you do son but it’s a good idea to have something to fall back on, if for whatever reason that doesn’t work out for you. And you can’t play baseball all your life you know. But ultimately what you do career wise is going to be up to you my boy but your mother and I want you to go to college and get a good education.  I mean you’re a pretty good drawer for instance? Have you thought about exploring that at all? And you’re good at numbers like your Mom. What I’m saying is, you’ve got options Mickey but you have to make the most of them,” Remington pointed out.

“I know it’s hard when you’re sixteen to focus on your studies when there are so many other distractions,” Remington said with a meaningful look as Mickey grinned, his younger son having very much inherited his charm and way with the ladies. “But just promise me you’ll try your best okay? That’s all your mother and I ask of you,” Remington stated seriously as Mickey nodded. “Okay Dad,” he replied.

“And another thing Mickey – I do not think you’re a screw up and I don’t want you to think you are either ok?” Remington said seriously, as he looked at his youngest son. It seemed like only yesterday he was holding him in the hospital as a newborn and now here he was a young man, as tall as him already, with the world at his feet. “I love you son and don’t you ever forget it. Now come here and give your old man a hug,” Remington said as he hugged Mickey tightly.

Mickey hugged him back, fighting back a tear or two as he did so. “I love you too Dad,” he replied, his deep brown eyes, so like his mother’s twinkling at his father, his mind still going over the revelation regarding his identity that his father had just made to him.

                                                                ************************************


End file.
